About six centimeters of water is flowing over the top of the City of Kimberley dam in the Mark Creek Valley, not enough for mandatory watering restrictions to be relaxed.
Although City CAO Scott Sommerville says the mandatory restrictions have had limited effect in this very low water year, water conservation remains important.
“Water levels dropped slightly over the weekend,” Sommerville said. “They were up a bit following the recent rainfalls. But hot and dry weather is predicted to continue, so conservation is crucial.”
Water usage dropped significantly in July when the mandatory restrictions were first announced and the City put on an education blitz about conservation.
But there are still people not getting the message. Sommerville says the City’s bylaw officer issued three warnings to households watering out of the even/odd days rotation.
“Repeat offenders will have their water shut off with a $70 fee to have water service restored,” Sommerville said.
Residents of properties with even-numbered addresses water only on even-numbered calendar days (eg. Aug. 2,4,6 etc).
Residents of properties with odd-numbered addresses water only on odd-numbered calendar days (eg. Aug. 1,3,5 etc).
Watering is to be done between the hours of 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. AND 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Automatic irrigation systems usually offer the option of activating the system at specified times. Optimum times are between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 4:00 am using the odd/even system described above.
All outdoor hoses should be equipped with spring-loaded shut-off nozzles for any use by hand.
Hand watering of plants using a hose with a spring-loaded shut-off nozzle or a hand-held container can be done at any time.
More frequent watering of newly laid sod or newly seeded lawns is expected. Please call City Hall to advise if you plan additional watering for new lawns.
